Dividing strip for terrazzo flooring



July 17, 1928. 1,677,760

. P. GALAssl DIVIDINQ STRIIF YOR TERRAZZO FLOORING med am. 1a. 192enumtoz Patented Jaly 17, 1928. 'l *A 1,677,760

UNITED STATES P'ATENTOFFICE.

l neonata smeer, vor m roar, 11.1.?. I I i I Bussum Application mea :anw-y 1s, 192s. serial no; 247,619.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of terrazzo and similarfloorings, and more particularly refers to a new type of dividing strip adapted for use in connection with such floors.

Terrazzo, granolithic, vstucco and similar floors usually comprise a lower or foundation bed made of concrete o r cement or mortar or other suitable material, and an upper or finishing layer generally consisting ofl a mixture of marble chips and cement, by means of which a good durable surface may be obtained as well as pleasing designs an -color effects of a practically unlimited valining the desired design by means 'of l foundation layer.

dividing strips placed' on or through the` These strips generally consist: of Hat metal bars set on edge having their lipper oor;

edges'flushA with the surface of the and said bars are generallyl provided with anchoring and positioning means; insuring' a firm binding action betweeii the strips and the materials of'lwhich` the floor is n cornposed..

,tained out of' sheet metal, and are suitable ese bars are generallymade of relative- 1y soft metal such as' brass for instance, t e wearing qualities of which are ap roximately equal to those of the floor itself;

and according' to the nature of the floor and p 'of the deslgn to vbe produced, the dividing strips may be of various thicknesses an lengths. j I

Relatively thin strips may lreadily be obfor ioors ofi moderate size; however, relatively large vfloors, or doors composed o relatively large units, call for striv s having suilicient rigidity to'lwithstand t e lateral pressure 'o the material without bulging -wlien'the loor is laid. These heavier strips -material1y .increases the cost of the door. At

are also generally made out of sheet metal but brass being 'expensive material, their use timeszthe ornamental features are such as to require entra.A thick metallic strips showmg through thematerial, and in these cas, thecost is still higher.l

Aside from their relatively high I cost,

heavy gauge lstrips also generallyl require more expensive operations andthe use of heavier machinesl and dies for the production offanchorin and positioning means -which are genera y offset or otherwise obtained from the body of the strip itself.`

In the case of extra heavy strips it becomes actually impossible to produce anchoring means b means of punch and die opera# tions, and t erefore suitable additions must be made to the strips by means of riveting or other uivalent operations, so thatboth d the cost o material and that of labor are again materially increased.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a dividing strip for terrazzo floors and the like, of a novel and improved type, which can be made in various sections as may be desired and which may be produced so vas to comprise a relatively thick upper portion and a relatively thin rib portion integral therewith combining capacity to produce heavy designs w1th relative light- .ness and economy of metal.

Another object 1s to provlde a novel and improved divi strip forA floors of the character specie adaptedA to be produced byrolling ordrawing or extruding processes,

l head comprising'a relatively thick upper or ortion and a .relatively thin rib portion,

preferably provided with laterally extending positio and supporting means.

A'further object of the invention is to provide a dividin strip of the character specified, suitable or the production of relatively heavy lined designs, said strip comrising a relativelyfthin Jrib portin, lending itself-to punch and die operations for the production 'of' anchoring and positioning means, adapted to retain the device in osition.

still further object is to rovide a novelis bothlight f and rigid 'and relative y inexpensive to pro- `duce,

type of dividing stri vghic affordingY new and numerous decorative possibilities for vfloors without entailing .an excessive cost of, production.

Other objects and advantagesof the present invention will more fully appear as the readily description proceeds and will be set forth and claimed in the appended claims.

AVarious embodiments-of my invention are illustrated inthe 'accompanying drawings,

in which:

- 1 is' avplan view of'a Hoor illustrating e mannerin which -tliestrxps are used;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a strip embodying my invention in one of its possible forms;

Figs. 3, 4, and 5, are similar views of strips of different designs also embodying my invention;

Fig. 6 is a vertical cross section showing another strip also embodying my invention, in position, at the same time illustrating the function of positioning and anchoring means offset therefrom; and

Fig. 7 is a vertical cross section showing another strip in position, said strip embodyingmy invention in a still different form.

eferring to Fig. 1, it will be observed that the terrazzo licor l() represented thereby iscomposed of a number of vpanels '11 delimited by dividing strips 12, set in a predetermined arrangement, delining the general design of the floor.

The type of strip to which this invention more particularly refersv is especially intended for use in those instances where heavy lines are required for ornamental or const-ructional reasons, As stated before, if strips of the ordinary type are used, heavy 1 lines defining the design entail the ,use of correspondingly heavy gauge metal for the strips.

In order to obviate the high cost entailed by such a procedure, as well as the limita- Itions imposed by the use of heavy gauge metal on the production of suitable anchoring means for the strip, I have conceived the idea of producing a strip such as illustrated in Fig. 2 for instance, designated by numeral '13, comprising a relatively thick head or upper portion 14 and a relatively vthin rib portion 15 integral with and depending therefrom, said rib portion being preferably formed with a laterally' extending flange 16, the'lower surface of which is at a. distance from the upper edge of the strip, corresponding tothe thickness of the upper` or finishing layer of the floor.

A ange of this character has the object of limiting the depth at which the lower part of the rib portion may be inserted through the foundation bed of the floor, causing the upper edge of the strip to define the thickness of the upper layer.

Said flange therefore acts as a means for automatically gauging and 'leveling the upper layer of the fioor and at the same time it also acts as a supporting mea-nsfor the strip as a whole, maintaining it in a vertical position. Such a ange furthermore obviously strengthens the structure o-f the strip so that amore rigid section adapted to well stand all normal lateral stresses is obtained even if the metal is quite thin through the rib and flange section.

A floor strip of this character can bd produced. with comparative ease by well.

known rolling or drawing or ext-rusion procv only entails the necessity of producing rolls or dies of the proper shape, usable inconnection with machines of standard type now found on the market.

By virtue of these conditions, my novel t-ype of strip can be produced at relatively lowcost for labor and at the same time, `dueto the nature 0f its design it results in important savings in the costof material.

It will be observed that the style of strip illustrated lcan be produced together with its anchoring and positioning means in a single operation, while as a rule strips of ordinary desicn require separate loperations for the production of the anchoring and positioning means,

It is obvious that the thickness of the head portion bears no relation to the thickness of the rib portion, so that While the supporting portion may have a relatively light section for all types of strips, the head portion may be made thicker or thinner as may be desired, so that without materially affecting the weight of the strip, the width of the upper edge may be produced between two widely different limits; therefore, numerous decorative possibilities are afforded by this featurel within the range of relatively moderate costs of production.

My inventive idea may be embodied in strips having different sections, according to requirements. For instance, the strip 17 illustrated in Fig-3 comprises a relatively thick head portion 18, and a relatively thin rib portion 19 integral with and-centrally depending therefrom, said rib portion being formed `with two side flanges 20, 21, acting as positioning and supporting means for the strip.

In addition to this, parts of the rib portion are also laterally offset therefrom at spaced intervalsv to formI laterally and upwardly projecting lugs 22, more effectively insuring a safe anchorage of the strip in position.

. In view of the light weight of the rib portion, it is possible to produce said anchoring means by ordinary punch'and die operations, while as stated, this could not easily bedone if .the .strip was as thick as its headv portion all through. i

A still different type of strip is illustrated in' Fig. 4 Where 23 designates the strip comprising a head portion 24 having outwardly .sloping sides 25, 26,` and a rib portion 27 centrally :depending therefrom. The rib portlon. 1s preferably formed with one or two laterally extending downwardly inclined flanges 28, 29. The junction point between the flange and flanges and the rib portion rennen corresponds to the upper surface of the foundation layer of the floor, and therefore Ylo the iiange or llanges will become embedded in said foundation layer acting as supporting and positioning means and as effective anchoring means as w Furthermore, the sloping sides o f the head portion will become we in position after the upper layer of the' oor has become set and will assist the action of the anchoring means inV preventing the possibility of the stri' becoming loose in its setting.

lpig. shows still another design of strip l in which the rib portion 31 is laterally from, the lower part of said rib depending from the head portion 32 and 1s provided with a laterally and upwardly ex- Y tending flange 33, the upper edge of which isatadistancefromtheup redgeofthe head portion equivalent to thickness of the upper layer of the floor for the reasons previously stated.

In. Fig. 6, 34 designates the lower layer or bed of the floor, laid on the floor foundation 35, 36 designates a strip embodying my invention in a still different form. Like in.

the revious cases, said strip comprises a relatively wide head portion 38 anda relatively thin rib portion 39, depending thereportion being embedded into the lower layer of the floor `to a depth where the upper edge of the strip is on a level' with the upper surface of the finished floor.

As stated before, in order to facilitate the placing of the strips in position and in order to insure their vertical alignment, it is preferable to provide positioning supporting are represented by means for` the strip and in case, these lugsor ears such as 40, punched and bent of the rim portion of the strip to extend laterally therefrom at a point coinciding with the 'upper surface of the lower layer of the floor. These lugs or the rib ears can be formed at spaced intervals and will eifectivel serve the purpose and f imctions of the previously described.

This method of producing the supporting means to a certain extent weakens the section 'of the strip sotha't a rigidity corresponding to that of the drips gereviously-described could only in thisicase obtained by the thicknmf'svof Portion In Fig. 7, I illustrate another dividing strip having a still diferent outline, comprising a-relatively wide-head portion 41, a relatively thin rib portion 42, centrally depending therefrom, the lower part of which is embedded in the lower layer 45 of theoor, and two laterallyand u and extending msw 43, 44; *11 PW-gis at comprising a re which are on a level with the upper surface of the lower layer of the floor, as shown.

Numerous other sections of stri could be illustrated, all embodying m inventive idea, which consists substantie y in producing a stri having all the decorative possibilities o heavy gau metal without entailing its high costs. e use of strips made according to my inventionis advanusalsoinmany other tu stance, the freight and han charges are lower than those entailedby ordinary strips of corresponding thiclmess, and furthermore the strips are easily set and retainedin position due to their light weight and relative rigidity.

These strips can be used in connection with all kinds of terrazzo and like floors, and also on walls, stairs, and similar construction operations generell The drawings are intend for illustrative purposesonly andnotinalilnitingsense, and I therefi-e reserve myself the t to carry my invention into practice in those ways and manners which may enter, fairly, into the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: f

1. iloor of the character described, comprising a re tively narrow rib portion and a wider head, portion integral therewith,

said head portion havingan upper nnintery rupted straightedge.

2. A floor stri of the character described, comprising a 'tively narrow rib portion and a wider head portion integral therewith, formed with an upper uninterrupted vstraight and anchoring means integral with said rib portion.l A

3. A floor stri of the character described,

formed with an upper umnteiru ion y 'vely narrow rib portion and a wider head portion integral thei'evlrit A PASQUALE eimssi.

lll

of and laterally o set from 

